In the summer of 2021 Amon Maritime and ECONNECT Energy established AZANE Fuel Solutions to develop and deliver bunkering solutions for ammonia fuel. Together with leading project consortium partners, AZANE is building the first units in an ammonia fuel bunkering network in Norway, realising a complete clean ammonia fuel value chain from production to consumption.
Amon Maritime is a shipping and technology company focused on ammonia fuel and ammonia-powered ships. The company has a portfolio of ship development and newbuilding projects with various industry partners, and provides ship management services through Ula Ship Management – a JV with BSM.
ECONNECT Energy AS is an independent Norwegian technology company assisting the midstream, downstream and maritime markets with a jettyless IQuay™ floating transfer terminal for LNG, ammonia, CO and other liquids.
AZANE has 21 dedicated professionals with decades of experience from sectors such as shipping, gas-handling and energy transfer, and is positioned for further growth with a versatile and entrepreneurial management team.
AZANE has developed flexible and safe terminals to receive ammonia in pressurized-, semi-, and fully- refrigerated state, and fills the market gap for distribution and use of ammonia as a marine fuel source. The innovative technology enables high transfer rates on small terminals, minimizing lost time for bunkering. The bunkering terminals will be both floating and shore-based, and will be the first in the world delivering clean ammonia fuel to the shipping industry.
Backstory
The lack of bunkering infrastructure, sufficient distribution networks and current regulations are barriers for ship-owners today. With combined areas of expertise and competencies, Amon and ECONNECT Energy saw an opportunity to merge common interest for a shift in the industry for greener energy sources. AZANE fills the remaining gap for clean ammonia fuel in the value chain, and by doing so pushes the transition to a sustainable shipping industry.
Along with Yara International and other partners, in September 2021 Azane successfully secured NOK 89 million (EUR 8.6 million) in green grants from the Norwegian Government to execute a consortium project for an ammonia fuel bunkering network. This grant award follows ECONNECT Energy’s rebranding and amplified focus on the ammonia fuel market.
Why Clean Ammonia?
Clean ammonia, both blue and green, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships and is therefore considered a key enabler of carbon free shipping and a preferred option to meet international climate objectives in the years to come.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established mandatory energy efficiency requirements for ships with targets to reduce the carbon intensity of the shipping industry by more than 40% by 2030 and towards 70% by 2050, in addition to other GHG emissions reductions by 50% (2008 levels as a baseline). Further, in terms of efficiency ammonia has 45% higher energy density than liquid hydrogen and will therefore be preferred storage alternative compared to other fluids in the market today. When compared to hydrogen, ammonia can be stored at 34°C instead of -253 °C, in addition having an easier scale up for production. AZANE’s solution will be a key step to enable carbon-free shipping.
Bunkering Solutions: Onshore and Floating Terminals
AZANE offers both floating bunkering and onshore turn-key terminal solutions. All terminals have the functional requirement of ammonia import and export with similar interfaces as LNG with flexible hoses, dry disconnect and break away couplings.
The terminals are scalable by tank capacity and number of tanks, with capacity for small scale (e.g. 2 x 200m) to more than 4000m3 per tank for larger terminals, also allowing for refrigerated storage for optimal loading, flexibility and minimized dispersion risk. Terminals have innovative boil off gas (BOG) handling systems enabling effective transfer to tanks of all pressure classes, with built in safety features and an Emergency Shut Down (ESD) system with SSL communication.
What's in the future for AZANE?
Currently, there is established infrastructure for production, transportation, and storage world-wide with limited scalability constraints. In 2021 the demand for ammonia was 184 million tons. The demand is assumed to grow up to 470 million tons by 2050 (where over 60% of this amount is expected to come from ship-fuel demand).
Azane has already signed a preorder with Yara International with a multi-year agreement to deliver 15 carbon-free ammonia fuel bunkering barges for the Scandinavia market. Construction will start in the beginning of 2023.
With significant industry experience across a full range of technologies, AZANE is positioned to meet an increased demand in the market and a demand for a greener shipping industry.
Sources
1) Arkwright market study 2021; IFA; DNV
2)https://www.yara.com/news-and-media/news/archive/news-2022/yara-international-and-azane-fuel-solutions-to-launch-worlds-first-carbon-free-bunkering-network-delivering-green-ammonia-fuel-to-the-shipping-industry/
3) https://www.azanefs.com/about
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